The Internet has provided millions of people worldwide with access to seemingly limitless amounts of information. While people in some less-developed countries are awaiting access to the Internet as required infrastructure is being put in place, in the industrialized countries, such as the United States, people throughout the country can readily access the Internet. In order to access the Internet, a person merely needs a network access device running appropriate software and including the appropriate hardware. Typically, the network access device is a personal computer including software which includes a Web browser and a communications package that provides access to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider, and hardware which includes a conventional modem or broadband access device.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a conventional personal computer system 100 coupled to the Internet 102 through either a conventional plain old telephone system (POTS) communications link 104 or through a broadband communications link 106. The computer system 100 includes a processor 108, which includes a microprocessor (not shown), that executes programs and stores data in a memory 110. The computer system 100 further includes input devices 112 such as a keyboard and mouse to allow a user to provide input to a program running on the processor 108, and also includes output devices 114 such as a display screen to allow the processor to provide output to a user of the system. A mass storage device 116 stores user preference data 118, user file data 120, and an operating system 122, which the processor 108 accesses through an intelligent drive electronics (IDE) controller logic circuit 124. The mass storage device 116 may be a hard disk, CD-RW drive, or other suitable mass storage device, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
An Ethernet logic circuit 126 provides the processor 108 with a high speed communications channel over which the processor communicates with a broadband bridge device 128, which is coupled to the Ethernet logic circuit through a conventional RJ-45 jack 130. The broadband bridge device 128 is typically a cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem that transfers data to and from the processor 108 through the Ethernet logic circuit 126 and transfers data to and from the Internet 102 via the broadband communications link 106. A modem a logic circuit 132 is coupled through a conventional RJ-11 jack 134 to the POTS communications link 104 and provides the processor 108 with an alternative low-speed communications channel over which the processor can access the Internet 102. Typically, the computer system 100 will utilize only one of the Ethernet logic circuit 126 and the modem logic circuit 132 in accessing the Internet 102, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The computer system 100 further includes a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) logic circuit 136 through which the processor 108 communicates with peripheral components (not shown) coupled to a PCI bus 138.
In the computer system 100, the memory 110 typically includes random access memory (RAM) (not shown) for storing programs being executed by the processor 108 and for storing data associated with those programs. The memory 110 also typically includes a FLASH memory (not shown) for storing basic input/output system (BIOS) software that determines how the processor 108 controls basic functions of the computer system 100 such as communications with input devices 112 like a keyboard and communications with output devices 114 like a display. The BIOS software also includes an initialization or “boot” program that the processor 108 executes when the computer system 100 is first turned on or reset, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. During execution of the boot program, the processor 108 transfers the operating system 122 into the RAM (not shown) portion of the memory 110. The operating system 122 along with other programs being executed by the processor 108 are stored in the memory 110 because the processor can access data stored in the memory 110 much more quickly than data stored in the mass storage device 116. The operating system 122 may be any of a variety of conventional operating systems such as Windows, DOS, UNIX, or LINUX.
Any of these conventional operating systems 122 is a very complex program that may include millions of lines of software code and occupy megabytes memory. Moreover, the operating system 122 provides a user with a myriad of configuration options and wide range of functionality, both of which are much more than the average user requires or desires. As a result of the complexity of the operating system 122, it is typically relatively complex to install, configure, and support, and misconfiguration of the operating system 122 may result in a nonfunctional computer system 100. For example, a simple omission of a character in an essential configuration file of the operating system 122 can render the computer system 100 inoperable, with operability being restored only upon a lengthy and involved process of real running the operating system.
In today's Internet-dominated world, many users simply want to obtain access to the Internet and do not want or need the power of the conventional computer system 100. Moreover, many users cannot justify the expense of purchasing a conventional computer system 100 merely to utilize the system an Internet-access device. For these types of users, a new type of Internet-access device known as an Internet appliance or network computer has been developed. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a conventional network computer 200 coupled to the Internet 202 through a conventional POTS communications link 204. The network computer 200 includes a processor 202 that executes programs stored in a FLASH memory 204 under control of an embedded operating system 206, which is also stored in the FLASH memory. A reset device 207, such as a push-button switch, resets configurable parameters of the embedded operating system 206 in the event the network computer 200 “locks up” during operation, which may occur, for example, if the user misconfigures the embedded operating system, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. A modem a logic circuit 206 is coupled through a conventional RJ-11 jack 208 to the POTS communications link 204 and provides the processor 202 with a conventional low-speed communications channel over which the processor can access the Internet 202. The network computer 200 may also include a universal serial bus (USB) logic circuit 210 and USB port 212 through which the processor 202 communicates with peripheral devices coupled to the USB port. The network computer 200 further includes input devices 214 such as a keyboard and mouse to allow a user to provide input to the program running on the processor 202, and also includes output devices 216 such as a display screen to allow the processor to provide output to a user of the network computer.
The network computer 200 is designed to be a low cost alternative to the conventional computer system 100 for users that merely require a device for accessing the Internet. Accordingly, the network computer 200 typically includes no mass storage device and includes no broadband access components to reduce the cost of the network computer. The functional requirements of the network computer 200 are relatively simple when compared to the conventional computer system 100 and thus there is no need for the powerful and sophisticated conventional operating system 122. The embedded operating system 206 is a simplified version of the conventional operating system 122, resulting in the embedded operating system being much smaller than the conventional operating system. This allows the embedded operating system 206 to be stored in the FLASH memory 204 and eliminates the need for a mass storage device.
While the network computer 200 is intended to be a low cost alternative to the conventional computer system 100 for users merely requiring an Internet-access device, many users are dissuaded from purchasing the network computer due primarily to the low-speed Internet-access and lack of mass storage. For example, most users accessing the Internet will want to download files of various types, such as audio or video files, and the limited storage capacity provided by the FLASH memory 204 provides insufficient capacity to store a reasonable number of downloaded files. As a result, many users forego the purchase of a network computer and instead purchase a conventional computer system merely to obtain broadband Internet-access and sufficient mass storage capacity to download desired files.
There is a need for a network computer that provides users with desired functionality without introducing the complexities and costs associated with conventional computer systems.